The destruction of a 46,000-year-old cave and the backlash for Australia’s mining industry

In Western Australia, on the lands of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, there was a 46,000-year-old cave, where thousands of artefacts were discovered, revealing incredible things about the history of this continent. In late May Rio Tinto – one of the world’s biggest mining companies – blew it up. Calla Wahlquist explores the archaic law that allowed this to happen, and the ensuing backlash that could change how the mining industry operates • Culture warriors obsessed with statues ignore Rio Tinto’s vandalism of Indigenous heritage